11/16/2007

(Breaking news from the WGA - the AMPTP has agreed to come back to the table on November 26th. Now, let's hope they are prepared to make a fair deal. This is progress. Everyone wants to go back to work. Everyone wants fair compensation for their work.)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 16, 2007

CONTRACT 2007 NEGOTIATIONS STATEMENT

LOS ANGELES – The Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) and the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) have issued the following statement today:

Leaders from the WGA and the AMPTP have mutually agreed to resume formal negotiations on November 26. No other details or press statements will be issued.

For more information about the Writers Guild of America, West, please visit www.wga.org. For more information about the Writers Guild of America, East, please visit: www.wgaeast.org.

The Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) and the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) represent writers in the motion picture, broadcast, cable, and new media industries in both entertainment and news. The unions conduct numerous programs, seminars, and events throughout the world on issues of interest to, and on behalf of, writers.

(Also, this message just sent to our strike captains:)

The effort and energy and resolve of the strike captains and teams, on the line, in headquarters, on location, and out in the community including the blogosphere has had a tremendous impact, and been instrumental in bringing the companies back to the bargaining table. Congratulations! Of course, going back to the table is an important step; but we must not allow our effort and creativity to wane. The strike must continue and we must continue to increase our impact and message to get the best possible deal for writers and for others who will benefit from our struggle, including actors, directors, drivers, crew, etc.

How much do you want to bet that the WGA will cave, just like in '88? They'll settle for something (probably half of what they're asking for) that's less than what was on the table when negotiations broke down and give up even more writer rights, and everybody will be happy.

Then the membership will realize - as always - that the writers got fucked. Again.

How much do you want to bet that the WGA will cave, just like in '88? They'll settle for something (probably half of what they're asking for) that's less than what was on the table when negotiations broke down and give up even more writer rights, and everybody will be happy.

Then the membership will realize - as always - that the writers got fucked. Again.

HEY! BE POSITIVE!Nothing but positive thinking & actions got us the outpouring of love & support & back to the negotiating table after only 2 weeks! Don't give yourself an ulcer yet!

"Then the membership will realize - as always - that the writers got fucked"

Depends on what you mean by "fucked". A lot of us would like consider getting back to work with an intact union, and no worse a deal than we had before, a victory. Little guys like me just don't benefit enough from that 4cent DVD/INTERNET residual to make much of a dent. We get more out of the work, financially and emotionally.

That's exactly what the AMPTP is counting on. "Little Guys" like you start feeling the heat and give in to the AMPTP, settling for far less than what they deserve. And they get "fucked" because of their need to have the work be both financially and emotionally fulfilling and the AMPTP knows it. Just like '88.

What did Lincoln say, something about "a house divided?" The second the individual starts thinking about his or her own needs, and not of the collective group, that's when the adversary wins.

If the membership starts thinking like you, it's all over and the AMPTP wins. Maybe they already have.

Second anonymous--Why would the WGA cave at this stage? They've got incredible public support--69% to EIGHT percent. EIGHT PERCENT support the studios. That's it. That's the difference between now & '88, when they weren't supported.Ah, irony… the same internet that caused the strike enabled the writers to get the word out & fight back.Of course, you know the writers are in good shape. You're a studio troll.

That was my first thought, but looking at the calendar it makes sense. Deals don't get made on the weekends so that buggers the 17th and 18th, and then next week is Thanksgiving so the whole town would basically be shutting down for that anyway.

No one wants to sour their Thanksgiving (further) with (more) bad negotiations, and anyway it wouldn't be good to be looking at a break mid-week in what may be very long negotiations. Next weekend is out as well. So the first day it makes sense to get back to the table is Monday, November 26th.

. . .*cough*. Seriously, though, this is amazing, amazing news. Let's hope it comes to something, and quickly. Maybe it's just my gidiness, but I'm willing to give the AMPTP the benefit of the doubt. Not that they've been enlightened or whatever, just that they really want to talk. And WGA, WGA, WGA! Oh, I love you and am sorry I ever doubted you! Thank you for proving the doomsayers wrong. But DO prove them wrong, please. Of course, make sure you get what you deserve, but please, on behalf of youselves, all your cast and crews (especially those out of work), and millions of anxious fans, don't just fight- fight for a deal! I have my fingers crossed. Please, please, let this be as wonderful as it sounds.

Sweetheart - When internet writers want to organize, I'm sure the WGA will be happy to try to help. But if you guys haven't organized and won recognition (either through voluntary recognition, card count, or NLRB election) the WGA can't really do shit for you.

If you want it to be easier to get the benefits of union membership, you need to support the Employee Free Choice Act. But in the meantime, why not call WGA and tell them you'd like to organize and get the ball rolling. They might be a tad too busy right now to help you, but once this strike is settled I'm sure they'll look into it.

That is, if you really want union benefits and protection. Some people just like to complain.

This is a big victory. Seriously. I'll bet they weren't planning on reopening negotiations until after Christmas. Figured you'd completely crack by then.

Still, this could just be a stalling tactic. And if they think you're gonna give in at the first sign of home, they'll take you to the cleaners. Stand strong. You're winning, and will win.

And for all the IATSE members (or those pretending to be) bitching about being out of work - you need to realize that you're lack of solidarity only strengthens the studios hand which will make them less likely to bargain in good faith. In short, your bitching is going to PROLONG THIS STRIKE AND YOUR UNEMPLOYMENT.

If the studios think they can divide and rule, they will try it. If they see that won't work, they'll negotiate and you'll all get back to work.

As an added bonus, industrial action tends to make folks a lot more conscious of labor issues. If you stand with your brothers and sisters in the WGA and SAG - instead of trying to attack and undermine them - they're going to be far more likely to stand with you in your negotiations than they were in the past.

I hoe the AMPTP does not cave and give into the writers extortion. Like I've said before, I don't pay the plumber every time I flush my toilet. And going back to the table does not mean victory for the WGA. It's a little arrogant to think that the strike caused the studios to go back to the table. The studios are running this thing and have all the leverage and can name the time and place and most importantly, the TERMS of when this strike ends.

I'm leery. As soon as there's talk of boycotts, "let's not buy any DVDs this holiday season," etc. then the AMPTP is willing to talk--but not today, no, after the big post-Thanksgiving holiday weekend sales.Hope I'm wrong...

YAY! I'm so happy to hear that the talks will start again! I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the studios come to the table with a fair offer and the contracts can be signed! I'm already going through 'The Office' withdrawl! I'll be thinking about you guys next Monday!

Can the strike be settled?Cut the teatrics, say the producers.By Nick Counter on November 17, 2007Producers in Hollywood absolutely believe that writers should be compensated for their work in new media. They also believe writers deserve to share in whatever success new technologies bring to studios. Producers have already put their money where their mouth is by paying millions in residuals for permanent and pay-per-view downloads.

Unfortunately, the theatrics and carefully designed photo opportunities of the last two weeks have obscured the fact that the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers clearly supports writers having a fair share in opportunities presented by digital distribution.

The leaders of the Writers Guild of America know that during the last bargaining session Nov. 4, the producers proposed a residual rate for streaming shows and offered WGA members exclusivity in writing derivative programming made for new media — two proposals that were of utmost importance to WGA members — in order to make a deal that was fair to all. Unfortunately, the WGA leadership went on strike while that offer was on the table, ending negotiations.

What the WGA leadership is really asking for strains the test of reasonableness, and the problem is that few people outside the bargaining room know what’s actually at issue.

In short, the guild is demanding an unjustifiable increase in the residual rate that writers receive for downloads, money they receive in addition to the salary they were paid in the first place (the WGA’s 4,434 working members make an average of $200,000 per year). They are also demanding a percentage of the advertising revenue earned by the networks from -supported streaming.

However, the WGA’s contract is not with networks, it is with producers, who receive no proceeds from these advertisements, just as they receive none of the revenue achieved by networks through commercial television. And what they don’t want their membership and the public in general to focus on is that it’s the producers who shoulder all the risk in a business in which most motion pictures lose money, and the vast majority of television shows either never get past the pilot episode or never achieve profitability.

Regardless of whether a show or a movie is a hit or a flop, the writer is paid.

In addition, members of the Writers Guild and its sister guilds are covered by the country’s finest healthcare and pension plans, and our contribution to those plans has consistently increased while other industries’ contributions have decreased.

Further, the economics of the media business are changing. Producers are faced with soaring production and marketing costs, a DVD business that is to the Internet, a softening syndication market and an increasingly fragmented advertising and viewing landscape — all of which are creating real challenges that everyone in this business is facing.

It’s unfortunate that this wholly unnecessary strike is threatening to financially devastate the hundreds of thousands of people in the Southland whose livelihoods depend on a thriving and working industry. It must end, and end soon.

What will it take to end the strike and to get the contract resolved?

The AMPTP is prepared to negotiate if the Writers Guild sincerely expects that a deal can be made. It’s time to stop the posturing and the mischaracterization of positions and get on with the hard work ahead of us.

The WGA has to start dealing with the 21st century realities of our business so that we can craft a new contract that protects the interests of all entertainment industry employees.

Marco,YOU'VE said the plumber line before? I was under the impression that was Lew Wasserman's (lame) analogy. Did your plumber invent the toilet? I'm guessing he didn't, which is why he doesn't get a rolyalty every time you flush it. The flaw in the Toilet analogy is that writers aren't the plumbers. If anything, they are the water. They start everything moving, and without them working you'll just end up with a bowl full of sh*t.

Yeah, Marco, congratulations for having not just come up with the plumber analogy but also a time machine so you could go back in time and plant it in Lew Wasserman's mouth. Any other innovations we need to attribute to you?

Let's see, the AMPTP has ben waging a campaign of "greedy schmucks with typewriters," trying paint the WGA as unwilling to negotiate, has stated emphatically since the strike started that they wouldn't be giving in to the requests for increases in DVD residuals or "new media" payments, right? And now they've just decided that, "Okay, we've willing to negotiate all this now..."

Well, color me skeptical. In fact, color me a disbeliever.

I'll go on record as saying I think this is just another tactic by the AMPTP to make the WGA look bad. They'll be able to say, "Look we went back to the table, but those greedy schmucks with typewriters are so unreasonable we just can't give in to their crazy demands."

Then they'll go on to say something like:

"In the interest of our many viewers and the poor writers out of work by the short sightedness of the WGA, we've decided that it's in the best interest of all to dissolve our relationship with the WGA and start a new joint venture with any writer willing to resigned from that unreasonable organization. We'll increase pay, pension benefits, and offer profit sharing on DVD and internet income...And in the future we'll re-visit how we pay our new employees and see if they need an increase in pay or benefits or if those things need to be decreased based on an income to profits ratio (Golly, I wonder what will happen then). And, of course, our new plan will require complete loyalty (each writer will have to sign an oath swearing to never unionize again) to the AMPTP and it goes without saying you can trust us. We're very honest folk and respect the work writers do completely."

And you know what? Some schmucks will buy it just so they can go back to work. What was it Lincoln said, something about "a house divided?" This is how it starts...

"However, the WGA’s contract is not with networks, it is with producers, who receive no proceeds from these advertisements, just as they receive none of the revenue achieved by networks through commercial television."

Is Counter trying to feebly argue that we're negotiating with the wrong parties??!! Wow... how foolish I feel for being on strike... because apparently we're striking against the wrong people!

C'mon.. the producers (Studios) and Networks are one and the same. They're all part of the same parent corporation.

Speaking as an industry outsider who talks about copyright with a lot of people under 30 --

The studios will be in a better position to enforce copyrights long-term if they *double* the amount of DVD sales they give the writers (and the other unions as their contracts come up). Or go to a % of a well-audited residual.

As I said in another thread, young people will pay for copyrighted material *only* if they feel money is going back to the creatives. Long-term, copyright holders need to strengthen the ties between the income and the creatives -- or there will be no income. For anybody.

I don't think it's in anyone's long-term interests -- even the AMPTP's -- for negotiations to begin with the table in the same state it was when they ended. My only question is whether the short-term pressures on the AMPTP (from their parent companies & stockholders) will let them acknowledge where their long-term interests lie.

Good luck, guys. I had given up on t.v. until The Office came along-it was (sorry everyone else) the only thing that could make my husband laugh each week-he's struggling with depression, and we are SO sad that it's become a victim of the strike. I hope you all will keep fighting for justice and get back to doing what you do best-helping others find a smile when life seems overwhelming.

Let's hope that this time the AMPTP either negotiates seriously, or Nick Counter resigns and someone with some clout and guts and willingness to give us what we want, knowing that the WGAw and WGAE are the major forces in the industry.

Earlier I read that In short, the guild is demanding an unjustifiable increase in the residual rate that writers receive for downloads, money they receive in addition to the salary they were paid in the first place (the WGA’s 4,434 working members make an average of $200,000 per year). They are also demanding a percentage of the advertising revenue earned by the networks from -supported streaming.

and that on Nov. 4, the producers proposed a residual rate for streaming shows and offered WGA members exclusivity in writing derivative programming made for new media — two proposals that were of utmost importance to WGA members — in order to make a deal that was fair to all. Unfortunately, the WGA leadership went on strike while that offer was on the table, ending negotiations.

basically you walked out of negotiations, they didnt, ofcourse they will come back, it was you who walked out in the first place, you people make everything so confusing, sounds like you just want a blank check, Regardless of whether a show or a movie is a hit or a flop, the writer is paid.

its Producers are faced with soaring production and marketing costs, a DVD business that is to the Internet, a softening syndication market and an increasingly fragmented advertising and viewing landscape — all of which are creating real challenges that everyone in this business is facing.

It’s unfortunate that this wholly unnecessary strike is threatening to financially devastate the hundreds of thousands of people in the Southland whose livelihoods depend on a thriving and working industry. and the WGA does have the power to end it quickly rather than next year.

For the Anonymous Sock Puppet who posted at 8:11, here's a bit of the WGA's response to the AMPTP's "open letter" that you trolls in the boiler room are using as your talking points.

Nice try, AMPTP. In the words of the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but not their own facts. The AMPTP's paid and patronizing advertisement in today's New York Times and Los Angeles Times is guilty of what most charitably could be called sins of omission.

The AMPTP maintains, “It is important to make clear that writers currently do receive residuals for digital downloading (regardless of whether the download is temporary or permanent)... The Guild is seeking at least a 700 percent increase over what writers currently receive, and more than a 200 percent increase over what they receive for Internet 'pay per view.'”

FACT: In our abandoned negotiations, the AMPTP insisted that the residual rate for digital downloading be pegged to the current rate for DVDs, a penurious third of one cent on the dollar. Let's repeat that: A THIRD OF A PENNY!!

The 700 percent increase they refer to roughly translates as 2.1 cents, the 200 percent as 2.5 cents. The AMPTP, as the saying goes, uses numbers the way a drunk uses a lamppost - more for support than illumination. Do the math and you'll see what we're asking for is nothing more than a small, fair respectful share of revenues.

The AMPTP states that it “has offered to pay writers a percentage of the revenues the producer receives from licensing streamed content on the Internet.”

FACT: The AMPTP “offer” would allow them to continue to air the streamed content FOR FREE for the first six weeks after its initial broadcast release. In other words, the time period during which there would be the most demand from the public and the most bang for the advertising buck. After that time is over, they would throw us a fraction of the bone of whatever's left.

According to the AMPTP, “No labor agreement in history has given writers, actors or directors a portion of advertising dollars.”

FACT: As their own ad notes, technology is rapidly changing the way our business works. They themselves admit, “There's a paradigm shift in how entertainment is distributed and consumed.” They offer streaming video for free, but make millions for the copious advertising that accompanies the content. It's only fair that the creators, the storytellers that make those revenues possible, get a tiny taste of the pie.

Anonymous 8:11PM: Like the AMPTP you can't seem to get your facts straight. For instance, the AMPTP has stated that it was they who walked out the negotiations not the WGA.

Also, as one of the 4,434 "working" writers in this town, I can assure you were I making the "average" $200K you refer to, I'd be one happy muthaf*cker.

And I ain't happy.

The truth is the "average" working WGA member makes about what a 5-year veteran LA City cop makes and that's not even every year.

In any given year I'm liable to be unemployed and looking for writing work. So, if you "average" or pro-rate my income over the same five year period as that LA City cop, I bring the "average" down even more...

Let's just say it's a tough way to make a living. When it's good it's damn good. And when it's bad, it's peanut butter and jelly sandwiches at lunch and lots of Ramen for dinner.

Don't cry for me, I love my writing life and wouldn't trade it for anything else. But at least get your facts right, okay?

And maybe you should ask your AMPTP friends what their average salary is or how often they've had to eat ramen for dinner.

Hey, only *two* troll postings on this thread, and only one on the more recent one! Are the AMPTP trolls getting bored? Or disheartened? Or have they given up after being so easily spotted? One can only hope…

Dude, you do realize that when you plagarize - even from miserable bastards like the AMPTP - you're supposed to cite your source and put shit in quotes.

Many of the other points have already been debunked, but I'd like to add that the piece deliberately fudges the numbers by referring to "working writers" (by which I think they mean full-time employed writers). That's taking a tiny subset of the WGA. It's no different than when the Maritime bosses try to claim that Longshore workers make 6-figure incomes by only focusing on guys with their A-Card, or that autoworkers make 6 figure incomes by only focusing on guys that have topped out and pick up tons of extra overtime shifts.

The fact is that over half the guild in a given year doesn't even make the minumim to get their health insurance (which is $20 or $30K I believe). Yes, there may be a set of writers on hit shows who make a good salary (but not working in the industry I'm not sure how this works? Usually I only see one or two writing credits per episode, so does that writer only get paid for those shows or are they salaried or what?). But there are tons of writers that had a hit show, then the show got cancelled and it takes them a few years to find more work. Or they sell a movie or two, but then it takes them years to write more movies and sell them.

A writer may be on a good show that never gets aired, or gets dropped after 4 episodes.

And the kicker is, during the time that they're "unemployed" they're still creating content for the studios FOR FREE. They're writing more scripts they hope to sell and coming up with more show ideas to pitch. They don't get paid for any of that. Meanwhile, the studios are still making some money off the work they did on the show that got cancelled or the film that they wrote through DVD sales and such.

Things writers can do during the strike. Develop algebraic word problems while substitute teaching math. For example.------------------------ALGEGBRA:ALMOST LIKE AN EPISODE OF 24.

There are 4 politicians who want to go on stage and take their rightful place at the podium before the debate begins. They all begin in the audience (think young and diverse!) shaking hands and smoozing. You have 17 minutes to get all of the candidates on stage before the show goes live or else the terrorist (played by Wolf Blitzer) will set off a canister of nerve gas killing everyone inside, including the diverse, innocent (did I say beautiful and mostly blond?) college students invited by youtube to watch this disaster unfold.

The stage is completely dark and the candidates must cross the stage carrying a lighted candle (this represents ETERNAL HOPE and flickers constantly). There is but one FLICKERING CANDLE of HOPE. A maximum of two candidates can cross at one time. Any candidate who crosses, either 1 or 2 people, must have the FLICKERING CANDLE of HOPE with them. The FLICKERING CANDLE of HOPE must be walked back and forth, it cannot be thrown, or rolled on the ground. Each candidate walks at a different speed. A pair must walk together at the rate of the slower candidate's pace.

For example, if Hillary Clinton and Dennis Kucinich walk across first, 10 minutes have elapsed when they get to the other side of the stage. If Dennis Kucinich then returns with the flashlight, a total of 20 minutes have passed and you have failed the mission and the once and future President is DEAD, as are many, many innocent, beautiful college students, and Anderson Cooper is covering the story 24/7/365.

What is the order required to get all candidates across in 17 minutes?-------

i work in the new media world and the fact is the line is going to continue to blur between TV and the internet, now is the time to fight for what you deserve before things get too established and the studios will never back down. i'm going to miss some of my favorite shows for a while, but its worth it to know that wonderful people like you will continue to produce great content for us to enjoy! i wish you all the best.

KUDOS to the WGA. I am so pleased to see others, including SAG members, walking the picket lines with you.

The power unions, and by extension the power of working Americans, has been diminished for the past few decades. Workers seeking rights like fair payment have been practically demonized by the media -- particularly by the likes of FOX news. We are overdue for a positive portrayal of solidarity. What strengthens united workers benefits us all. Thank you from a union family .. and hang tough.

"And for all the IATSE members (or those pretending to be) bitching about being out of work - you need to realize that you're lack of solidarity only strengthens the studios hand which will make them less likely to bargain in good faith. In short, your bitching is going to PROLONG THIS ..."

Not allowing for honest disagreements between people, telling them to stop their "bitching" because they don't agree with you.

After much consideration on both parts, here is a deal that I think you will see is great compromise.

DVD Residuals:

DVD residuals will remain where they are for the remainder of 2007 and 2008.

Starting in 2009, residuals will increase by $.005 (half a cent or .25%) every year for the following 9 years when the contract is up again for renewal.

This will bring the full rate up to $.085 (or 4.25%) by the end of your contract.

For the writers it gets them to the level they want to be at, and for the studios it offsets the amount you are losing every year as DVD sales fall.

INTERNET AND INTERACTIVE RESIDUALS:

First, studios must give an accurate accounting of TV AD sales since 1988.

Taking an average of the most profitable year in AD sales across all studios, we find the average percentage of profit and set that as a barrier or standard level.

Now having that barrier in place, the studios only have to pay out residuals on the internet after that profit barrier is reached, therefore using the internet to offset the losses that are being taken in TV AD sales.

The rate of residuals would be tied to the home video rate.

The writers would only be paid on original series work (webisode and mobisode series) and rebroadcasts of episodes from TV.

The WGA should really be pushing for limits against SAG. One of the reasons that studios are so wary to give out more money is the stupid salaries that the top .5% of SAG members demand. I think there should be a $5mil limit on the upfront paycheck to any actor in a movie and a $200K limit to any actor on a series. All other income should be tied to the back end. That way your actors will be motivated to sell your product and not have the option of "acting" like divas.

Eh, what can you expect, it's hard to get a quality shill with no one to write his banter for him. I'm impressed he's not just quoting Pinkerton slogans.

Some of us bystanders are doing all we can to get the word out and get people mad about this: All of us out here in the new media should worry about the stance the AMPTP is taking, because the backhand of this is that it devalues our intellectual property rights in general. If networks can establish that creative content on the web has no monetary value it'll be that much harder for anyone to sue over stolen content, and we'll all see our work repackaged for 'promotional material'. Creativity in general is at threat here, and the guild is fighting for all of us, not just members, to secure a value on creative contributions to online material. The least we can do is support you.

Keep up the fight. People are gonna suffer over this, no doubt, but we'll all suffer if talent and craft are starved out of creativity.

School communications project - I would appreciate it if any of you in the Writer's Guild could post a comment with your opinion addressing any of the following questions:1. How best (mediums, arguments, etc.) should writer's communicate their point?2. What is a reasonable/feasible outcome to the negotitations?3. How should the AMPTP communicated with the Writer's Guild? Are they doing this? 4. What is most effective for both parties in terms of communicating with other stakeholders (e.g., the public)? Are they doing this?

Again, just lookin for some opinions! Thank you very much for your time.

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